ABSTRACT
James H. Cone (1938–2018), a leading theorist of Black Liberation Theology, was the Charles A. Briggs Distinguished Professor of Systematic Theology at Union Theological Seminary and an ordained minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. He is also the author of many books, including Black Theology and Black Power (1997). In the following essay, Dr. Cone makes a case for black liberationists allying themselves with (mostly white) environmentalists to fight for social and environmental justice. According to Cone, social justice and environmental justice are two sides of the same coin. And that is because people of color are disproportionately exposed to environmental hazards from pollution, the siting of toxic waste dumps, and dangerous chemicals. Like Martin Luther King Jr., and Malcolm X, Dr. Cone contends that achieving social justice requires the exercise of political power, and that black liberationists and environ-mentalists should not shy away from acquiring and using such power.
